


Round 1: Christmas/New Years

by CheersToEngland, FlightlessEggsxo, mizinvizible, Narrybabes, orphan_account, penguin_parties



Series: Bromance Games [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2014-01-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 09:32:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1118306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheersToEngland/pseuds/CheersToEngland, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightlessEggsxo/pseuds/FlightlessEggsxo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizinvizible/pseuds/mizinvizible, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narrybabes/pseuds/Narrybabes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account, https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguin_parties/pseuds/penguin_parties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of the continuing stories from the first round</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Larry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Macie for writing this lovely story

Harry's pov:

I just home from going food shopping for me and my boyfriend, Louis Tomlinson, yes the Larry rumors are true, I unlocked to door of our house when all I heard was crying, I quickly put all the bags down and ran to me and Louis room to find Lou's phone next to him as he was curled up into a ball on our bed,

"Lou bear? what's the matter babe?" I asked him quietly, he sat up and put his face in my neck and just mumbled 'phone'. I hugged him while I grab the phone to see what he was talking about. it was horrible this twitter timeline was filled up with

"Elounor the best"

"what's wrong with Larry shippers"

"Larry isn't even that cute"

"there just friends"

"Elounor all the way"

At this point I couldn't take it, I felt a tear go down my cheek but I know I have to try to stay calm for Lou. I rub circles on his back till he was calm. Once he calmed down he whispered,

"it is supposed to be are year Haz"

I whisper back to him, "I know babe and it will I promise just look at this" I grabbed his phone again and searched up '#larryisreal' and '#harrylouyear' and showed him how many more people believed in us. He finally smiled which made me smile. I took my index finger to make him look me in the eyes, and kissed him slowly and passionately, after a little bit he realized what was happening and kissed back. I took his phone and took a picture silently then put the phone back down to finish the kiss. after the kiss was over I gave him a hug and I kiss on the cheek

" I love you Lou" I whispered

" I love you too Hazzy"

" look at your photos" I said, he picked up his phone confused. Once he smiled I knew he saw it. I saw he messing around with his phone with a big grin, I watched him to I heard a twitter beep

'@Louis_tomlinson add a picture with you' I opened it up to shockingly see the picture I just took of us on twitter with the caption saying,

'Happy news years ill being spending it with the best boyfriend in the world @harry_styles I love you babe and to anybody who doesn't supported obviously your not a real fan also thank you to all the real fans that support us I love you guys xx' I smiled and mouthed

"its our year" then tweeted him back telling him I loved him too.


	2. Lilo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Tegan for this lovely story

I wake up as Liam excitedly jumps around the room. 

"Get up Lou," he coos to me.

I laugh at the childish behavior of my normally serious friend. 

"IT'S CHRISTMAS! I WANT TO SEE YOUR REACTION TO WHAT I GOT YOU!" Liam screams.

I shh him as he might wake up the neighbors. I look at the clock and see its 4:00am.

"I'm coming," I chuckle as I hop out of bed. I put a casual shirt and some sweat pants over my boxers and go out into the lounge where Liam is holding out a present for me.

"Here here here!" He smiles excitedly . His eyes sparkle as he watches me tear open the gift.

Inside is a watch, it's absolutely amazing. It's gold with diamonds ingraved and looks fairly expensive.

"Liam this is beautiful," I say almost lost for words.

"Look inside there's something ingraved in there," he says beaming at me.

I look inside and see a little message that reads,

"To my friend and other half, Louis. I love you."

My eyes become wet as I read the note. I pull Liam in for a hug and smile.

"Thankyou Liam this is amazing," I say putting the gift down on the table, "Now for my gift to you."

I walk over to the tree and grab the present addressed to Liam.

"Here," I say.

Liam eagerly rips open the wrapping reminding me of a small child.

He gasps as he sees the present I got him. It's an $100 coupon for the restaurant we first went. On the back is a little note of the order Liam and I had. I smile at the memories.

"You remember this," Liam says smiling at me.

"Of course," I say. It may not be as special as the gift he got me but it still has a place in my heart.

"Mere Christmas Liam," I say.

"Merry Christmas Louis," he replies.


	3. Lirry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Kate for this lovely story

The snow was coming down like a blanket over our city. I woke up from my nap to find that my parents were gone. A note lay on the table from them telling me they went to a Christmas party. It was Christmas Eve but I suddenly got upset they would leave me alone since they hadn’t seen me for three months. I went back downstairs to my room and laid down back on my bed. Nothing could make my day any better except Harry. But he was at home with his family and I wouldn’t get to see him for two more weeks. We’ve always been more than friends but neither of us decided to take it any further. We’d been friends for almost three years now and I knew from early on that I liked him. One night we went to a party together and our friend, Louis who knew that I liked Harry dared me to kiss him. It was that night that I knew I loved him. Louis always told me Harry felt the same way about me but I was never sure and to afraid to make a move. I picked up my phone to call him. I had two texts from him.  
*Hey Liam :)*  
*Are you ok? You didn’t answer and I was worried*  
I smiled because he was worried about me and I sent a text back.  
*Thanks for worrying. I’m just home alone today so I’m a little lonely.*  
I got up from my bed and went back into the kitchen to make some dinner for myself. It was only five but it was already dark outside and the snow was still falling. There was about four inches of snow already and it would probably snow another four overnight. Harry’s name popped up onto my phone screen.  
*I know something that will make your day better*  
The only thing that could make my day better would be seeing him but I knew that wouldn’t happen today.  
*Really? What is that?* I sent back to him.  
I finished the rest of my dinner and returned to my room. I was tired from all the traveling I did this morning so took a seat back on my bed. My parents probably wouldn’t be home until late so I tried to go back asleep. After laying there for about five minutes with no luck I picked up my phone again to see a message from Harry.  
*I can’t tell you. You’ll have to wait.* I smiled wondering what he was planning and sent a reply.  
*Do I have to stay up? I’m tired and want to sleep…* Almost immediately after I sent my message I received another one from him.  
*Not too long. Just wait like 20 more minutes and you’ll see.*  
Twenty minutes would give me enough time to take a shower before whatever his surprise was. I turned the water in the shower on and waited a few seconds for it to warm up. Quickly, I washed my hair and the rest of my body not wanting to waste too much time in here. As I stepped out of the shower, I threw a towel around my waste and walked back into my room. From my bags sitting on my desk, I pulled out a pair of sweats and some boxers putting them on. I decided to stay shirtless since I was still warm from my shower.  
My shower only wasted about ten minutes of my time and once again I found myself laying back in my bed. I could feel myself slowly start to drift off.  
There was a loud bang at my window that caused me to awaken. Sleepily, I got out of my bed and opened the blinds to see a pair of green eyes staring at me. Harry. I opened my window to let him inside as well as a gust of cold winter air.  
"Harry! I have a door you know?!" I yelled at him and playfully hit his chest.  
He just smirked and wrapped his arms around me. I can feel the wet melted snowflakes in his hair press against my cheek as he brought his mouth down to my ear and whispered back, “I was trying to be romantic.” My heart jumped at his word choice. Romantic? I smiled at the thought of him thinking of me the same way that I’ve felt about him for so long. He removed his arms from around my neck and we took a seat on my bed.  
"Why aren’t you back at home?" I questioned him. His eyes shifted from his hands up looking into my eyes.  
"It doesn’t matter. I’d rather be here anyways." He assured me.  
"I-I’m just surprised that you came all this way here. I mean it’s only an hour but you didn’t have to come." I say fumbling over my words from nerves. If I did this right, I could tell him my feelings I remind myself silently.  
"Do you not want me here?" Harry asks with hurt in his eyes. One of the reasons I love him so much is because you can read his emotions in his eyes.  
"Of course I want you here. I love being with you." I say trying to sound confident.  
"Really? I love being around you too Liam. I really like you" He says with a smile looking back up into my eyes.  
I don’t even really have time to think about anything else before I decide to lean up to his lips. The last thing I see before I close my eyes is Harry closing his and leaning into me. Our lips crash together and I feel the warmth of soft pink lips lingering on mine. He opens his mouth slightly and I can feel his warm tongue run beneath my bottom lip. I gently open my mouth to let his tongue slip inside. I move my hands that were resting on the bed up to his shoulders and softly push him away. When my eyes open, I see his bright green ones staring back at me and I see a look of content in his eyes. At the same time they look tired so I take his hand and guide him over to the top of my bed. I watch him as he slowly takes his shoes off and removes his black skinny jeans. He crawls in my bed beside me and wraps his arms around my bare chest. I can feel his chest rise and fall with each intake of breath.  
"Harry, I love you so much and I have for the past couple years." I whisper to him.  
"I love you too Liam. Now lets get some rest." He said kissing my shoulder blade and slowly falling asleep against my back.


	4. Narry first place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Sarah for this lovely story

Work Text:

Harry was brought up in a family where Christmas was glorified as the greatest event of the year, the celebration that topped them all, the most important day one could experience in an entire year of experiences. Harry and his sister were experts on speaking to the Santa Claus at the mall (even though they know he's one of the many fake Santas sent out to report back to the real fat guy clad in red) by the time they were four. They had their lists prepared mid-November, and always had their letters on the way to the North Pole before most of the other kids were even poking chocolates out of the little boxes on their advent calendars. Candy canes and gingerbread were daily snacks for the Styles family, Christmas carols flew out of their throats like tiny partridges, and they may as well take up gift wrapping as a profession. Basically, the heat was turned up during Christmas season, both literally and metaphorically.

But the most important part of it all to Harry, was wishing for a very special present to be delivered by Santa Claus himself. His mother always told him that no matter what a child asked for, if they were good people and helped and cared for others and deserved a gift, they shall find it waiting for them under a big pine tree Christmas morning.

The information Mrs. Styles shared with her son every year continuously checked out, as Santa always managed to bring Harry what he wanted; a toy truck when he was three, a play karaoke machine when he was six, and a Walkman when he was eight. But the Christmas before Harry is to turn ten, a rather difficult gift to deliver tops his list. At the age of nine, with deep dimples and ears he has yet to grow into, Harry asks Santa Claus for a friend.

School seems to be getting harder. Not only is maths becoming more and more troublesome with the introduction of multiplication and division, but Harry's class is generally a lot more interested in pointing out his flaws and making fun of them and excluding him from games and avoiding him at recess. He's getting to be increasingly lonely, but he knows that his idol from the North Pole is always there for him, so he decides he's going to request some company be granted to him this year.

Despite his mother's warnings that "Santa can't wrap people up and give them to other people for Christmas," and suggestions as to what else Harry can ask for, he possesses great confidence in the power of his favourite jolly old fellow. And that's how he finds himself out in the yard of his house, dressed up in more than two layers and really thick socks and sitting on the wooden bench beside the front door.

Emerald eyes search the burnt sky for a blurred red light that navigates the night or a shadow crossing in front of the bleached moon like they've seen in movies, or any sort of sign of a magical entity spreading joy all over the world. There hasn't been anything yet except for a lost bird and the blinking lights of an airplane and Harry is beginning to lose hope.

"Hello."

Harry startles at the sound, his eyes darting away from the stars and back to Earth, where he sees a blond boy about his age and just as bundled up as him standing near the gate that separates his yard from the rest of the world. The boy stares at him, curiosity painting his body language, and Harry stares back, unsure of what to do, waiting for the stranger to either say something else, or run off.

"What are you doing?" the boy asks, his accent strong and out of place. Harry notices he has crooked teeth and cheeks that still hang slightly heavy from baby fat.

Harry doesn't say anything for a moment, contemplates whether to reply or hurry into the safety of his home.

"Um...," he finally begins to mumble, but hesitates. All the kids in his class have started saying silly things like Santa isn't real, and the parents put the presents under the tree and eat the cookies and fill the stockings. Harry doesn't believe them, but they'll make fun of anyone who disagrees. What if this stranger thinks he's stupid? "I'm...I'm waiting for Santa Claus."

To Harry's relief, the boy nods at his answer, understanding. He looks up at the moon, and maybe asks for some courage or guidance like Harry does sometimes, before asking, "May I join you?"

Harry's heart lurches in his chest, eager for some company because no one ever wants to sit with him or talk to him or anything, really. He opens his mouth to respond, but nothing comes out, so he settles for nodding rapidly, green eyes wide.

The boy grins as a thanks, and then elegantly hops over the metal gate, wrapping a gloved hand around the bar, and then kicking his legs up and over it. Harry watches as he strides closer and closer, hands in his coat pockets, and then sits down in the space next to him on the bench. He can't help but see how pretty the boy is up-close. It's hard to make out, but it looks like his eyes are blue and Harry imagines they glitter like the intricate designs of ice that Jack Frost casts upon his bedroom window overnight.

"I'm Niall." The boy looks at him, smiling and giving Harry another look at his adorably slanted front teeth for just a split second.

"My name's Harry," Harry replies shyly, nibbling on his bottom lip and snuggling deeper into his jacket to escape the interested stare Niall is giving him.

"You believe in Santa Claus?" he asks.

"Yes. I do."

"Me too."

This reveal brightens Harry up, and he admits, "Everyone in my class makes fun of me for it."

Niall frowns at that. "You shouldn't let them. That's not nice."

Harry blushes, overwhelmed by the fact that someone is actually showing interest in him, someone his age and someone who doesn't seem like they would bully him. He doesn't answer, just resumes scanning the charcoal sky as he was before Niall came along.

"What school do you go to?" Niall questions a moment later.

"Patriot's," Harry responds, tries not to hope that someone as nice as Niall just-so-happens to go to the same school as him.

"Oh," Niall says, and he sounds disappointed. "I go to Mary Wagner. But if I went to Patriot's I would make sure no one made fun of you, ever."

Harry is glowing by that point, in disbelief that someone wants to protect him. He must be dreaming. He must be so tired that he's hallucinating. It's too good to be true.

"Thank you," he says, and he means it.

Niall only nods and they both dip into another few moments of silence, eyes twinkling as they roam the patterns and images formed by the stars above them. They are only children who are still ignorant to the realism of the glowing dots staring down at them. They still wonder what's out there and if people live on stars and if, perhaps, stars are the souls of their late family members, watching over them, their eyes poked into the thin fabric of the night to peer at the little boys they've left on Earth. Their beliefs are yet to be tainted by the curse of science.

Harry enters a trance, pondering if the world he knows is simply inside a box and the stars he sees above him are air holes stabbed into the cardboard to keep its innards alive like some sort of pet. The airs tightens around him as this thought traipses about his imagination, and it becomes a little difficult to inhale the frosty air.

"I like your hair," Niall speaks again and it startles Harry out of his churning mind.

Harry lifts a hand, soft and small and free of the wrinkles of time past, and grabs for a chocolate curl that wriggles out from the hem of the beanie he had pulled over his ears to keep them warm. He concludes that his hair is still the same colour and texture and shape as it was when all his classmates were making fun of it, how could Niall possibly like it?

"Not many people do," Harry responds to Niall's compliment, and he can't help the disappointment and humility laced around his words.

"Well, sometimes people have trouble finding the beauty in things. Like, my mum tells me that two people fall in love because where other people find flaws, they find only another feature to love about each other," Niall says, looking at the boy next to him with pride and confidence in his words.

"My mum says nobody's perfect, other people just learn to appreciate and accept the little things about someone that makes them different. She told me that's what love is," Harry replies softly.

"Our mums are pretty smart, aren't they?" Niall asks rhetorically.

Harry nods, because his mum is the one who helps him with his math homework and knows exactly what to do whenever he gets hurt. She doesn't have a job and Harry doesn't know what she studied in university, or if she even finished it, but he knows she's really intelligent.

"What'd you ask for from Santa Claus?" Niall asks then, his words catching on his teeth and making a little whistle sound when he says an 's'.

Harry looks at his boots as they dangle just a couple inches from the pavement, ashamed of his answer and the connotations that come with it.

"I asked for a slingshot," Niall says, seemingly to comfort Harry a bit and coax him into sharing his own request. "There's always lots of tin cans in the pantry, and I want to set them up on a crate and get really good at shooting them off."

"Remember you have to eat the stuff inside before you try that, yeah?" Harry says, because one of Gemma's boyfriends came over and tried to do that once and he got microwaveable spaghetti and meatballs all over the kitchen and Mrs. Styles was not happy at all.

"Oh right!" Niall gasps. "Thanks for reminding me."

Harry grins in response, and finally he's beginning to feel more comfortable.

"I asked Santa Claus for a friend," he says. It may have taken a few seconds of hesitation, but at least he's let it out now.

Niall is silent and he looks sad because of Harry's answer. He frowns and purses his lips and his eyebrows draw closer while he trails his gaze over the houses that line the other side of the street.

"Well," he says then and turns to smile at the boy beside him, "I'm sure Santa won't let you down. As long as you've been good all year that is."

"I have!" Harry insists, nodding up-and-down rapidly.

"You've been doing good in school?" Niall raises his eyebrows.

"Straight A's!" Harry boasts.

"You've done all your chores every day?"

"Even when I was sick!"

"You're nice to everyone?"

"Always!"

"You haven't even...," Niall leans closer, slowly filling up Harry's personal bubble, until suddenly he throws his hands out and his fingers frantically scrabble all up and down his sides, smiling when Harry begins laughing and wiggles away. "...gotten into any tickle fights?"

Harry pushes Niall's hands away, beaming even as he rolls his eyes.

"Those aren't bad!"

"Alright, you got me." Niall laughs and fakes being sheepish before nuzzling a fist into the top of Harry's head.

"Hey!" the brunet cries, giggling, and shoves him away.

They both sit in silence again, just smiling to themselves and sometimes exchanging playful glances and funny faces. As the big hand on the clock in Harry's dining room gradually nears the 2, Niall stands up and turns to say goodbye.

"I live at number forty-seven. Just a few houses down that way." Niall points to his left, and Harry memorizes this information because Niall is really nice and a lot better than the kids he goes to school with altogether.

"Thank you for sitting with me," Harry replies shyly, looking up at Niall from beneath his eyelashes and a few stray curls.

"Of course, Harry." Niall leans forward so their faces are at the same level as he says this and his voice is so sincere it makes Harry want to dance around. But then he begins walking towards the gate and in the direction he pointed out moments ago, throwing over his shoulder a grin and a, "Merry Christmas!"

"You too!" Harry nearly forgets to shout back.

He waits until the figure has vanished from his sight, disappearing behind a large hedge in front of the fence a few houses away, before he looks up at the sky one last time. Towards the moon, who has just witnessed the beginning of a beautiful relationship between a lonely brunet and a foreigner with hair the same colour as a halo, he blows a kiss, and then he stealthily retreats back into his home and into bed.

The next morning, Harry finds a silly, dumb Nerf Gun waiting for him where he expected a friend, and he tries not to cry because his mum and his dad and his sister are all so happy and elated with their own gifts. Strangely, he just really wants to see Niall and let him cheer him up. But he's stuck here opening presents he doesn't want and fooling around with a plastic toy he didn't ask for.

A few hours later, with all the ripped wrapping paper in the garbage and many new items scattered on the floor, Harry's mum calls to him from the door. Curls and emerald eyes and big ears and all come rushing towards the cold draft seeping in from outside, and behind his mum and just outside the threshold, Harry sees a downright angel waving at him.

"Niall!" he cries and grabs his jacket off its hook and slips his mittens on and drags the boy outside to talk to him. "Did you get your slingshot?"

Niall nods delightedly.

"Wanna see?" he asks, and Harry gives him an excited and affirmative answer.

He draws a y-shaped, smooth stick of wood from inside his coat, and proudly points out his initials carved in the stick. He then demonstrates his shooting skills using a small red ball and the wreath hanging on Harry's front door.

"What about your Christmas present?" Niall asks after, looking at the boy he met only hours before with concern and all around them as if someone else had been standing with them the whole time and he hadn't noticed.

"I got a Nerf gun," Harry replies and the way his posture sags and his head hangs tells Niall that he's not at all impressed with Santa's actions this year.

Niall sighs and places a hand on the curve of his shoulder, trying to comfort him a little.

"I guess there are some things even Santa can't deliver," Niall remarks, and he sounds almost as disappointed as Harry feels. "I'm sorry, Harry."

But then it dawns on Harry, and he looks up so fast the snow and the sky become one.

"Wait," the brunet says quietly, as if he thought if he spoke too loud his revelation would be shattered. "Niall?"

"Yeah?" the Irish boy replies, and when they look at each other, Harry notices how Niall's bright blue eyes are refreshing to see in a world dyed only grey and white.

"Are we friends?" Harry asks, his voice fragile and absolutely desperate for a positive answer.

"I'd say so." Niall nods as if it were a simple question, for the realization has not come upon him yet. He offers up a small smile in the direction of his new friend, but it doesn't shine nearly half as much as the grin that breaks from its seed and grows proud and tall on Harry's face when he hears this response.

"Doesn't that make you my Christmas present?" Harry sounds the happiest he's been in years, his voice chiming like metal snowflakes falling upon glass.

At first, Niall looks confused. Until understanding sweeps gradually over his face like clouds clearing the canvas of the sky to make room for the glow of the sun upon the fields of land and water beneath.

"Yeah, I guess it does." Niall laughs and he sounds genuinely happy, his vocal cords snapping rapidly together like elastic bands to create a throaty chuckle, and Harry doesn't know if there was such thing as 'love at first laugh,' but he knows it's just happened to him.

Harry doesn't usually have a lot of self-confidence or courage, but suddenly he finds himself leaping towards the blond beside him, wrapping his arms around the boy's neck and pulling him into a tight, grateful hug. Niall, the amazing lad he is, just slides his own arms around the younger boy's waist and continues to giggle into Harry's ear.

Then Niall hears the brunet whimpering into his shoulder and his laughter stops short as he pulls out of the hug and looks at his new friend who has fresh tears falling down his cheeks and even more brewing in his green eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asks with urgency, using his mittens to wipe the salty streaks from Harry's face.

"I'm just so happy that out of all his options, Santa gave me you, the bestest friend of the batch." Harry shrugs, letting Niall pet at his cheeks and play with his hair to comfort him. He smiles weakly and looks at the ice on the ground, blushing from his confession.

Niall doesn't say anything, just tugs the brunet into another warm embrace.

**Ten Years Later**

Harry is, quite frankly, surprised at how many people ended up coming to his mother's Christmas Party, considering it was literally occurring on Christmas Day. He had had to dress up nicely and help prepare food and then clean the house and set up the decorations. And then he was forced to greet a bunch of older strangers and entertain people he's only seen at the grocery market when his mum stopped to exchange short greetings. But it really wasn't too bad since Niall had been there by his side the whole time, putting him at ease with the squeeze of his hand and a secretive smile, the seams of his lips withholding jokes to be told later when the guests were gone and they could speak freely.

Over the years, Harry's friendship with Niall only grew and blossomed, even though the blond never turned out to be some sort of magical elf sent from the North Pole or a guardian angel fallen from the heavens just for him. Although it was slightly disappointing that his best friend didn't have special powers that finished his homework for him or cleaned his room, it comforted Harry to know that he managed to make a friend without the help of magic working to pull them together.

And maybe over the years an even stronger, more powerful force was building in Harry's gut and heart and head. A force that longed for a little more than a brotherly bond. But Harry would never admit to it, harboring the fondness for a certain blond in the secret nooks and crannies and crevasses of his heart.

Harry's in the middle of talking to a relative when he notices that his friend has disappeared from his side. Typically, this isn't an odd occurrence because his aunt's ramblings about the recklessness of their generation can get boring fairly quick. But Harry can't see his BFF at the food table, talking to his mum, on the dance floor, or in the lineup for the only bathroom, so he finishes the conversation quickly and goes on a search mission for Niall.

He finds the blond at the very same bench they met on all those years ago. He takes a minuteand thinks about how he's changed since then. He's had braces to straighten his oddly angled teeth out, even though Harry had found his imperfect mouth unlimited amounts of endearing, and his face had slimmed as they grew older, giving him a chiseled facial structure a Vogue model might envy.

"You alright, mate?" he asks, shrugging on a jacket as he steps outside and breathes steam into the biting chill of the night.

Niall startles and his head snaps to look at Harry, obviously in deep thought before he was interrupted. His cornflower eyes soften when they register who has come to join him, and he manages a small grin in the direction of his closest friend.

"Doing okay," Niall replies, his voice gruff and gravelly from lack of use. Not only are the guests at the party all Harry's relatives and therefore practically strangers to the Irish lad, but they're all quite talkative, leaving very few spaces for anyone to fill in with their own voice.

Harry nods and plants his butt down on the bench. He's surprised a bit at the coldness of the wood against the bum of his jeans, but he doesn't move from his place. They both sit in silence for a bit, watching the small clouds, brightened by the flow of the glowing moon through their translucent form, float across the sky like many boats in the sea. The stars pierce through the clear parts of the night and sparkle like the gems they are, their reflections sparkling in the eyes of a blond and a brunet boy, young and wondering what their futures have in store for them.

"Remember how we met?" Niall asks, stll facing the moon.

"How could I forget?" Harry replies, laughing a little to himself.

Niall chuckles too. "We became friends by trading the wisdom of our mothers."

"Yeah." Harry smiles giddily, and then he pauses. "Funny how they seemed like experts on love when we were kids, and now they're both divorced and struggling as they search for something they'd easily found in the past."

"It's unfortunate," Niall sighs, thinking of his mother spending Christmas dinner with his brother's family. She's happy, but not as happy as she was before his parents' marriage turned sour.

Harry nods, and they both just think quietly to themselves for a moment, until Harry becomes curious.

"What'd you wish for this year?" He asks, because over the years he's begun to think that one doesn't have to ask Santa for an object specifically, they can just ask for good health or maybe a year of opportunities. There are endless possibilities.

"Well, it's a bit far-fetched." Niall's speech slows and he begins tapping his foot, almost nervously. He's avoiding eye contact entirely now and Harry cannot imagine why.

"And, ten years ago, mine wasn't?" he tries to lighten the mood, nudging his shoulder against Niall's.

"You found me, didn't you?" Niall says and it comes out breathy and he smirks a bit when he finally looks up and blue and green clash.

Harry can't help but blush at that and he feels stupid because he's flattered by practically nothing at all. That's how things seem to go around Niall nowadays. But Harry really has to admit, and he has before, that finding Niall was possibly the best thing to ever happen to him.

"So what'd you wish for?" he persists, watching Niall blink up at his audience of distant suns, all looking down at him and endlessly encouraging him to come out with it.

Agonizingly slowly, Niall turns his head to examine the face of the boy next to him. He looks from his eyes to his nose to his cheeks to his forehead and, lastly, to his lips. And the whole world is turning agonizingly slowly now too, and Harry's heart freezes for a second and then beats faster than it ever has before when the blond starts leaning towards him. He can feel nerves tickling around his belly and something is going to burst.

But then their lips meet and nothing's felt this right before. Harry can only think of the memories he's shared with Niall over the past decade, the pretty and the ugly and the simple and the strange, and he just feels like this is what it's all led up to. They mould together and Niall tastes like champagne and something sweet and Harry feels like nothing has ever matched his personality better. He brings his hands up beneath the curve of Niall's ear and his fingers slip into his hair despite how cold it's become just as the blond pulls away only to capture Harry's mouth again but from a different angle.

Harry's fingers soon become numb and he barely notices at first but then he starts to worry about frostbite so minutes later they have to lean away. Their separation is unwilling and it suddenly feels weird for Harry to be so far from Niall now and it's even weirder that a few inches feels too far.

"So," Harry whispers, because perfect moments always feel easily breakable to him, "I'm your Christmas present then?"

Niall laughs quietly for a moment, and then he reaches a hand up against Harry's cheek, running a thumb beneath his eye, trailing over his cheekbone. The look he gives him is the definition of fondness and Harry feels like he's melting even though it's below zero outside.

"You've always been my Christmas present," the blond finally answers and Harry blushes, although it's not obvious as the redness has been there since he stepped outside. That doesn't matter though because it seems like stepping outside is the best decision he's made in awhile.

Harry looks up to the moon as Niall pulls him into an embrace and, as he did a decade ago, presses his fingers to his lips and blows a kiss to its round face, before snuggling his face into the warm neck of the angel it only took him one Christmas to love.


	5. Narry second place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Ellie for this lovely story

“Niall! Greg! Are you boys ready?” Maura shouted from the living room. The two small boys came scrambling down the stairs, dressed up for the Christmas party tonight. The brown haired boys were obviously brothers as they both wore nearly identical outfits. White button up shirts tucked in to khaki pants, the only difference between the two is that little 6 year old Niall had a grey sweater over his shirt. “Oh look at my handsome boys! Okay we have to leave now, we wouldn’t want to be late.” Bobby leaned down and swept the youngest boy into his arms and carried him out to the car and placed him in his booster seat. 

They arrived at the house of one of the few friends they had in this country, seeing as they had just moved here from Ireland a few months ago, and Greg instantly ran off, hopeful that he could avoid any awkward introduction to strange adults. Niall, however, clung to his mother’s skirt. He had been having a hard time with the move and his parents were the only thing that was familiar. The typically loud and rowdy child had been reduced to a quivering little thing, nervous around anybody new. 

For the first hour of the party, Niall followed his parents around like a lost puppy while they met new people. They tried to get Niall to speak to the new people but he would only bashfully look up through his lashes before stepping behind one of his parents to hide himself. His parents were really starting to worry. Back in Ireland, Niall was the type of kid who you would have to go looking for when it got dark because he was always over at some neighborhood kid’s house. Not that anyone minded, Niall was adored by all the parents for his sweetness. But here in Holmes Chapel, Niall hardly spoke, his primary school teachers expressed their worry because he would just sit on his own, never spoke up in class. The Horans just hoped that he would open up in time, but for now they would just let him hide behind them, because they didn’t want to push him too much. 

However, much to Maura and Bobby’s delight, while they were talking to a new couple, a small boy with who appeared to be Niall’s age came running up to them. 

“Mummy, can I have a cookie?” The young boy asked the woman they were talking with. 

“Yes, Harry, thank you for asking. Can you say hello to Bobby, Maura and their son Niall?” Anne said to her son. Harry turned his attention to the family in front of him and his green eyes looked right at Niall. He waved his small hand and gave a warm smile before speaking up. 

“Hi Niall. Wanna get a cookie with me?” He offered. Niall just stood silently, half hidden behind his mom’s leg. Bobby and Maura held their breath, hoping their son would accept the invitation, and to their surprise, Niall nodded and followed Harry to the dessert table in the other room. 

For the rest of the night, Niall and Harry stuck together. They went downstairs and watched tv for a while with the other children until the pair got bored of that. They wandered around before discovering that the secluded backyard had swings, a slide and trees perfect for climbing. 

The boys slung themselves over the swings face down, stomachs pressed against the plastic seats, swinging back and forth slowly. 

“Why do you talk funny?” Harry asked the slightly older boy.

“I’m from Ireland. My parents made me come here right after my birthday. Worst birthday ever,” Niall sulked. 

“Why is it bad?” Harry wondered. He loved growing up here, not that he really knew anything different. 

“Everyone’s mean,” Niall said firmly.

“You think I’m mean?” Harry pouted, suddenly very offended. 

“Well no, you’re not. I dunno, I just miss Ireland,” Niall shrugged. “How old are you, Harry?”

“Uhh… I think 5. I just started real school this year,” he explained. 

“Oh I’m 6, when will you be 6?” Niall asked.

“Um… um… I dunno,” Harry admitted. 

It was around 9:30 when Bobby came to the backyard after he had searched the house for his son. He found the two up in a tree, sitting upon a sturdy branch. 

“There you are Niall! I’ve been lookin’ for you for ages. C’mon, say goodbye to your friend, it’s time to go home.” Niall’s father called out. Niall pouted but realized the heaviness in his eyes and said goodbye to Harry before getting down and running to join his father, grabbing the man’s hand once he got to him. Niall fell asleep almost the second he was strapped into the car, before he got the chance to ask his mom when he would see Harry again.

 

Nearly a whole year went by and at first the months were filled with both of the boys asking when they would see the other, but about 2 months after the party, the young boys forgot about one another. 

Niall was now comfortable in his new home, he had finally started to make friends once he went back to school from winter break and his parents thought it could be because of Harry and their small friendship. Niall had even had a birthday party when he turned 7 and most of his class came. For Harry life really was no different. He loved school and he started his second year, practically bouncing out of his seat the whole drive to school after summer break. 

Now it was December once again and all the kids were on their winter break. Niall was just watching his brother play video games when their mother came in dressed up but looking quite upset. 

“Boys! Why aren’t you getting ready! We’re leaving for the Christmas party in…” She glanced at her watch, “20 minutes!” The boys grumbled and got up to change. There was still a week and a half until Christmas and they kinda just wanted to stay home because this was with their parents friends and they wouldn’t know anyone there. They came back downstairs half an hour later all dressed up, Greg with a red polo shirt and jeans (which made his mother pout a bit) and Niall had on a Christmas sweater and slacks. 

"Mum, do we haaaaaave to go? I could watch Niall while you two are gone. Please?" Greg begged. 

"Nonsense! Of course you two are coming, you're only 10. What kind of a mother would I be if I let my 10 year old babysit his 7 year old brother. The house would be burned to the ground by the time I got home! And don't you remember the party last year? The same people will be there, which means that girl you were all over will be there, what was her name again?" 

"Denise will be there?" Greg perked up.

"I would think so, and Niall, Harry will likely be there, too!"

"Who?" The 7 year old brunette asked. 

"Harry, the boy you played with last year. Don't you remember him?" His mom asked, a little sad that he forgot his first friend here. 

"Nuh-uh." 

"Oh... Well there will be plenty of kids there to play with, so I don't want to hear anymore about not coming. Now let's go, your father's been in the car for 5 minutes now."

Once at the same house they were at the year before, Greg ran off downstairs and Niall ran after him, wanting to stay close to his big brother. There were about 15 kids piled on the couches watching Home Alone. Greg jammed himself into the tiny spot left on the couch, leaving Niall to have to sit on the floor by himself. After about 10 minutes, the door opened and Niall listened to see who was coming in. 

"Now sweetie, go watch the movie with the other kids. Mummy will be upstairs if you need me. I love you," a woman's voice said and several seconds later a boy around Niall's age came and sat next to the Irish boy. Niall looked over at him and instantly recognized him. 

"Hey I know you!" He excitedly shouted, only to receive several shushes from the other kids and a 'shut up Niall!' from Greg. "Wanna go hangout?" Niall whisper shouted to the other boy and he nodded in return. The two scrambled up and ran off to find something to do. They once again found themselves on the swings outside, just as they had last year. 

"I... I'm sorry but I don't know your name," the other boy said to Niall as they started to push themselves on the swings. 

"I'm Niall, you're Harry, right? We played at the party last year. Member? I think I just moved here then."

"Oh yeah!" Harry suddenly realized that was why the boy looked familiar. "You're the boy who talks funny."

"I don't talk funny. Everyone here talks funny. I talk normal." Niall insisted. 

"Nuh-uh."  
"Yeah-huh."  
"Nuh-uh."  
"Yeah-huh." 

This dragged on until anybody over the age of 8 would have pulled their hair out. The two finally moved on and talked about whatever it is little kids talked about, going inside just to get some food, which was Niall's idea, only for them to run back outside as soon as they were done. 

"So do you know when your birthday is, Harry? Last year you didn't know."

"Uhh... February but I dunno what day, sorry."

Niall giggled to himself lightly. "That's okay," he said. He took the a bite of the cookie he held then offered the last bit to Harry. The slightly taller boy came over and took it, thanking Niall as he did. "I don't like that you're taller than me," Niall commented. 

Harry looked down at his body while he chewed before he glanced back up at the boy still sitting on the swing. "I'm sorry, I'm the tallest in my grade."

"You say sorry a lot," Niall noticed. 

"Sorry," Harry said purposely and the two giggled before Niall reached out and poked Harry's shoulder. Harry just looked at Niall, confused for a second before Niall whispered 'tag' and ran as fast as he could away from Harry. 

The two chased each other through the cold, their breath becoming heavier as they ran, their large puffs of breath very visible. Once it got dark the two realized how cold it actually was and went inside to drink some hot chocolate in front of the tv with the other kids. 

"Harry? Harry are you in here?" The same voice from earlier called out an hour or so later. Harry sat up and looked back, noticing his mother by the door. "Hello, sweetie, time to go, yeah? Say goodbye." Harry frowned but reluctantly turned to Niall and whispered goodbye so he wouldn't get shushed by the other kids. 

"Bye, Harry. Cya next year," Niall waved his hand a bit and gave a small smile. 

"See you next year."

 

And that they did. For the next two years the boys hunted down the other the second they got to that Christmas party and spent the entire night with each other, causing a bit of trouble and sneaking Christmas cookies as boys do. They made a fort out of fallen branches from the many trees in the back yard and of course they went on the swings. 

When Niall was 10, he suddenly realized two days before Christmas that they hadn't gone to a Christmas party. 

"Hey, mum? Why is the Christmas party so late this year?" He shouted down the hall. 

"Oh, it already happened but your father had to work late that day and I didn't want to be on my own while you two were off with the other kids," his mom explained. 

"But... Harry." Niall whispered to himself. 

 

Yet another year went by and Niall had started year 6, his last year of primary school. Nothing was really out of the ordinary for Niall, his year passed by as any other year would. His brother had gotten a phone last year and was excited for the Christmas party this year because he wanted to get Denise's number because she had gotten a phone the year before but they hadn't gone to the party. For Harry everything was fairly normal as well. His mom got remarried to a guy named Robin who was nice enough to Harry and his sister Gemma. 

The party was finally here and Niall was ready to go hours before they were supposed to leave. He really missed his friend, even if they'd only hung out four times before. He had on his favorite pair of jeans with a pretty plain Christmas sweater that his mom had picked out. Once he was ready, he impatiently waited for the hours to tick away, but eventually the time passed and the Horans were out the door.

As soon as they pulled up Niall ran out of the car and bolted through the house in search of his friend. Once he had gone through the house two times, Niall sighed sadly, realizing Harry wasn't there. He dragged his feet as he went outside, figuring he would just swing or something. As he got onto the deck he could hear the slight clatter of the metal chains, signaling that someone was already on the swing. Niall looked up from his feet and he smiled widely when he saw Harry on the swing, staring at the sky as he swung. 

"Harry! Hey!" Niall called out and Harry snapped his head down and dug his heels into the ground to stop swinging. 

"Niall! You're here!" Niall jogged over to the swings and got onto the one to Harry's left. The two pushed off and swang side by side as they talked. 

"Why weren't you here last year?" Harry asked first. 

"I dunno, my mum didn't wanna come alone and my dad had to work. Was it fun?" 

"Not really, I just hung out back here the whole time," Harry shrugged.

"Oh. Well how have your last two years been?" And with that, the two caught up before causing chaos around the house all night long. 

 

The following year was rough for Niall. His parents faught almost daily and finally got divorced right after his birthday, in early October. Greg had chosen to stay with just his dad, but Niall tried to switch off and stay with each parent for a week at a time. In November Niall died his hair blonde, wanting to mix things up a bit and maybe he was trying to embrace the change in his life, who knows. 

The annual Christmas party fell on his moms week but Niall asked if he could go with his dad because he wanted Greg to be there with him. Bobby and his sons got to the party, all feeling a little sad during the drive there. Niall and Greg both wandered off, Greg trying to find Denise who he was now dating. He had changed schools now that his father lived somewhere else and she happened to go to that school. 

Niall found Harry almost right away and Harry had looked at Niall dead on and looked away before doing a double take. 

"Niall?" Harry said with wide eyes. "You're blonde!" 

Niall ran his fingers through his hair and shook it out. "Yeah, I just wanted to change it up I guess," he explained. 

Harry looked at him for a few moment before smiling widely. "I like it! It looks really good!" Niall thanked him and Harry asked what he wanted to do. 

"I dunno, I've had a pretty shitty past couple of months, so I don't really feel like running around."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. How about we just hang out outside, if you'd like," Harry softly said. Niall nodded silently and the two went outside after they grabbed some drinks and cookies. There was a layer of snow covering everything outside, but bundled up in their winter coats, they weren't cold at all. They brushed off the plastic seats of the swings and even though the metal creaked when it moved, they swang. Well, Harry swung, Niall just pushed himself back and forth about two inches with his foot. "So why has it been a bad couple of months?" Harry spoke up. 

"My parents got divorced," Niall said just loud enough for Harry to hear, while keeping his gaze on the snow covered ground below him. The creaking from Harry's swing immediately stopped and a few seconds later his arms were wrapped around Niall. Niall buried his face into the puffy shoulder of Harry's down jacket and let out a shaky breath to try to steady himself, he really didn't want to cry in front of the younger boy. Niall wrapped his arms around Harry's waist because this was really comforting and he didn't want him to let go just yet. 

"I'm sorry Niall, I was too young to really get what was happening when my parents got divorced, but my big sister had a really hard time with it." Niall just remained quiet against Harry's shoulder. After several minutes standing like this and a few leaked tears, Niall finally let go of Harry. Harry looked down at the boy sitting in the swing and bit his lip in thought before returning to his own swing. 

"So, uh, I didn't know you had a sister," Niall said, trying to change the subject. 

"Yeah, Gemma. Don't you have an older brother?"

"Yeah, Greg, he's here with his girlfriend." Harry simply replied with a small 'hmm' and again the topic changed. Eventually Niall figured out that Harry didn't cuss, and being the great role model he was, Niall tried to convince Harry to start cussing. 

"C'mon, Harry! You're in secondary school now, just do it," Niall pleaded. Harry pressed his lips into a thin line and scrunched his nose before letting out a puff of air. 

"Fuck." 

Niall laughed a bit before congratulating Harry. "There ya go!" 

Harry had to leave early that night, his sister was feeling pretty sick, so Niall just hung out with his dad for the rest of the night. 

 

The next few years were pretty uneventful. The two found each other at the party, hung out all night, said goodbye until next year. Harry got a phone when he was 13, but Niall still hadn't gotten one so they still couldn't talk outside of the parties. 

The summer where both boys were 14, Niall was at the shopping center with some friends when he spotted Harry. The blonde was about to run over and say hi and tell him he finally got a phone so they could exchange numbers, but Niall's stomach dropped when he saw that Harry's fingers were intertwined with some brunette girl's. Niall had just stared with an open mouth for a moment, trying to figure out why his stomach was twisting the same way it did when he had found out his best friend had kissed the girl he liked. Finally his friends called his name, wondering why he had stopped walking with them and he turned back around and walked the opposite direction as Harry. 

At the Christmas party that year, Niall's stomach twisted again, just like it had at the mall. As soon as he walked in with his brother and father, whom he now permanently lived with, he saw Harry with the same girl that was holding his hand. 

Now at this point, Niall knew he was gay, or at least bisexual. He had figured this out when he had to kiss his friend, Eric, because they lost a bet and he had been pleasantly surprised at how right the kiss felt. Much better than the time his next door neighbor, Becki, had kissed him on the walk home from school. 

Niall had just been staring awkwardly and creepily at Harry and this girl for a while when Harry turned and noticed him. 

"Niall! Hey, come over and meet Jessica." Niall sighed to himself and made his way over to the counter they were sitting at. "Jessica, Niall. Niall, Jessica," Harry introduced the two and for the whole conversation, Niall had no idea what to say, so he was uncharacteristliy quiet. 

Thankfully, Jessica couldn't stay long and was picked up about a half an hour later, leaving Niall and Harry to themselves. 

"So your girlfriend's... Nice," Niall awkwardly said once she left. 

"Girlfriend? No. She likes me and we hang out but... I don't know. She's not my type. I'm trying to make myself like her, but it's been months and I still don't. I feel bad cause she's nice and I feel like I'm leading her on but... I don't know my friends really want me to date her."

Niall tried to hide his smile and did so by biting into a sugar cookie, the knot in his stomach vanished. However, he quickly scolded himself because Harry was straight and he shouldn't be thinking about him like that. 

Through the course of the night the two exchanged numbers and promised to text frequently. Which didn't exactly happen. They had a few conversations a month but never got around to hanging out, which made Niall a bit disappointed. 

 

The day before the Christmas party, Niall's phone buzzed while he tried to get a chord down on his guitar. He placed the instrument next to him and grabbed his phone from his bedside table. 

Harry Styles: Hey, ni. I'm not going to the Christmas party this year. But would you wanna come to a New Year's Eve party with me? It's a real party, not that adult mixer shit

Niall smiled to himself and quickly told Harry he'd love to before shouting to his dad. "Dad! Can we not go to the party tomorrow?"

"Thank God! I've been waiting for you to ask that for years!" His father called back. 

 

Niall pulled the cream tank top over his head and glanced in the mirror over his dresser, running a hand through his hair to push it off his forehead. A car beeped it's horn in front of the Horan residence and when Niall looked out his bedroom window, he could see Harry in the passenger seat. He quickly grabbed his phone, slid on a pair of Supras, said bye to his dad and ran out the door. He climbed into the back of the silver Audi and greeted both Harry and the unknown driver, who then introduced himself as Mason. 

After a few minutes of listening to whatever rap music Mason was playing, the car pulled over in front of a fairly large house in an upscale neighborhood. They all climbed out and Niall followed the two until something caught his eye. 

"Woah!" Niall reached out and grabbed Harry's elbow, making him stop and turn to look at Niall. "Your hair... It's so curly!" Harry chucked and looked up and the curls that brushed down at the top of his eyeline. "Your hair was pinstraight a year ago. What the hell happened?"

"There was a lice outbreak at my school and my mom made me cut all my hair off and it grew back like this," Harry shrugged. "Now let's go, Mason already went inside." Niall followed Harry in and the second they walked through the door, they could smell the alcohol that saturated the air. Niall spotted a table filled with an assortment of liquor on it and tried to walk to it to pour himself a glass but Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him the opposite way. "Not yet, I wanna show you something first."

"C'mon no fair! You can't just put that much alcohol in front of me, a full blooded Irishman, and pull me the other way. Anyway, I didn't realize lil 15 year olds threw parties like this," Niall said, half teasing half jealous that kids at his school didn't throw parties like this. 

"Shut up, you're only a few months older than me. Anyway, a lot of people here are 16 and 17. They're my band mates' friends."

"Band mates? You're in a band? Do you sing?" Niall asked as Harry led Niall through the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. 

"Yeah, I sing," Harry blushed slightly and Niall just barely caught it in the dimly lit backyard. 

"Yeah? Well you'll have to sing for me sometime." Harry just rolled his eyes and silently led Niall to the opposite corner of the too big backyard. They came across a large oak tree and hanging from a thick branch was a black tire swing. It was fashioned so that it was facing up, rather than side to side, allowing more than one person to swing at a time. 

Niall raised an eyebrow and looked at Harry who was excitedly smiling at the blonde. "A tire swing?" Niall asked, not getting why Harry was so eager to show him this. "This is why you wouldn't let me take a shot?"

"Well we swing together every year we're together, and this was as close as I could come to continuing that tradition. So shut up and get on." It had started to snow lightly, which Niall could have used as an excuse to go back inside but he reluctantly got on, situating himself between two of the three ropes. Harry awkwardly slung one leg over the tire and tried to push the two of them with his other leg. Harry's face contorted as he tried to push the two of them in a circle and Niall tried to conceal his laughter. However, when Harry stepped on a patch of ice and fell forward on the swing, Niall couldn't help but bust out laughing. "Shut up Niall. At least we're moving now, right?" Harry grumbled as he got his other leg over the tire into the center. 

The boys' legs bumped against each other's frequently as they quietly swang back and forth slowly and Niall couldn't help but notice how close Harry's hand was to his, holding onto the rough rope. If he just moved his hand up a centimeter or so, he could grab the younger boy's hand. Niall looked down at their feet and the ground that they circled above, only for his attention to snap back up when he felt a warmth blanket over his hand. 

When he looked at his hand, Harry's oversized hand was placed over it and when Niall looked to Harry's face, he found the boy's gaze fixed on him, waiting for a reaction. Niall's eyes scanned over the 15 year old's face, noticing the bright green pigment of his eyes, the light freckles painted across his cheeks and the pure white snowflakes sprinkled through his newfound dark brown curls. His eyes landed on the boy's pink lips that were slightly chapped from the harsh cold and Niall let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. The both of them leaned forward at the same moment and their lips caught in the middle. 

Niall lifted the hand that wasn't held by Harry's and placed it on the nape of the other boy's neck. After a few moments, Niall tilted his head so his lips broke away but his forehead pressed to Harry's, or rather to his curls, but kept his hand on the boy's neck. The two just let out heavy breaths until Niall finally spoke up. 

"It would have been better if you waited till midnight. Ya know, kept with the New Year's tradition."

Harry laughed softly and started to rub his thumb along the side of Niall's hand. "You're such an ass, Niall," he softly said, earning a chuckle from the blonde. "But we could just also kiss at midnight. I feel like that would solve the problem."

"Or or or, we could kiss more now AND at midnight," Niall said as he looked straight into the green eyes that were not even an inch away from his. 

"Yeah I like that plan better," Harry whispered. 

"Yeah, it's a pretty great plan," Niall said softly, matching Harry's volume. The two tilted their heads up so their lips met once more and Harry mumbled a small 'mhmm' into the kiss and Niall could feel the wide smile on the boy's lips.


	6. Niam first place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Jenna for this lovely story

7 year old Niall James Horan was a funny, adorable, loving little kid. Unfortunately, Niall was an only child and didn't have a sibling. So, Niall played board games, cards, video games, even checkers by himself. But his favorite game to play was pirates. Little Niall would run outside and swing his wooden sword at the same big tree everyday. Shine, snow, rain, whatever it was, he would swing that same sword, speaking random 'threats' to the 'captain' (tree). But as Niall did the same thing each day with no one to play with except a tree, you get bored and lose interest. So, by the age of 8, he would go out and play maybe once a week, or sometimes, once a month. And the big tree was still standing strong without the little boy's love towards it. Then one day, Niall ran outside to rake some leaves in the front yard, and he saw a little boy running around his front yard. He looked about Niall's age, maybe a bit older. He had brown hair, like Niall, and looked like he was carrying a wooden stick. Niall hid behind a tree, hoping that the little boy wouldn't see him. He didn't want to scare him away. As he looked over at him, he saw him tie a bandana around his head and a small eyepatch over his eye. He took his stick and stabbed his fence. The fence broke the fragile stick, and the boy picked it up and cried. Niall saw that the boy was crying and tried to get his attention. "Hey! Are you ok?!" Niall yelled, as the boy looked up from his broken sword. He spotted Niall and waved back. "Yeah, I just broke my sword." "Here, come over! I have an extra big wooden sword that my dad made! We can play pirates!" Niall replied. "Pirates? That's my favorite game!" Liam said happily. "Me too! Come over!" After Liam ran inside to ask his mum, he ran over to Niall's house and was introduced to Niall's family. After Liam was introduced, they ran outside. Niall found the extra sword and gave it to Liam. "Here, you can be my sidekick! We are trying to beat the big old captain, which is the big tree over there! He's really hard to beat Just saying!" Niall explained to Liam. Liam nodded, happy that he finally had someone to play pirates with. Liam James Payne was a 9 year old little boy that had two older sisters who didn't like playing pirates. So, like Niall, he played alone everyday. But for some reason, Liam would play early in the morning, while Niall would play before dinner was done. So they never met. As Niall and Liam played pirates, they both got really tired. So, they took their swords and sat down underneath the big tree. They then took their swords and carved both of their initials into the big tree. They found out that both of their middle names were the same and in their little brains, they thought that meant that they would be best friends forever, for some reason. So, underneath their initials, they put the letters 'BFFs' and they both smiled. "Promise you will always be my best friend?" Niall asked Liam, staring into his deep brown eyes. "Promise." Liam replied, staring into Niall's ocean blue eyes. And as they went home everyday after playing together, the big tree kept those markings plastered there, forever and ever. *7 years later* 15 year old Niall Horan doesn't look the same from when he was 8. Since then, he dyed his hair blonde and found out that he was gay. He was gay for his long time friend, Liam Payne. Liam actually also found out he was gay, and turned out that he was gay for his long time friend, Niall Horan. So, as you can guess, Niall and Liam were dating, and today was their one year anniversary. So Niall jumped out of bed, put on a white polo and black jeans, brushed his teeth, washed his face, Ect. After he was done, he picked up Liam's gift and held it in his hands. It was Liam's sword that they used to play pirates with, and also a piece of bark from the big tree. The same big tree that they laid under when Liam asked Niall to be his boy friend, and the same big tree where they both had their first kiss. Now, his mum said that they might be getting rid of that tree soon. When Niall asked why, she just said because if there was ever a hurricane or something, and because the tree was so big and old, it could fall over and crush their house. No matter how hard Niall tried to talk her out of it, she said the big tree is coming down either next year or in a couple of years. Niall cried for hours and hours on end. She didn't know how much that tree meant to him, and also to Liam. Not only did they play with it and also kiss underneath it, they talked about serious things underneath it. Like how Liam's dad was in the army and he wanted him home for Christmas this year, but he didn't know where he was or how he was. They would cry together about his dad, and other problems, and do you know what was there, standing strong for both of them? The big tree, with their initials craved into its skin. Niall wiped his eyes and ran outside with Liam's gifts in his hands. He ran to the big tree and texted Liam to come over. As he sat under the big tree, he ran his fingers across the craved initials, remembering their promise. That was the one promise that he would never break. "Hey love!" Niall could recognize that voice from a mile away. There stood Liam, gorgeous as ever, in a simple plaid t shirt with blue jeans. As the two boys were hugging, Liam's phone started to ring. Liam apologize and answered the phone. "Hello?.... Yeah?.... Wait WHAT?! No... Nonononono please NO!" Liam hung up and threw his phone on the floor and ran towards the big tree. "Wait Li!" Niall picked up his phone and ran after him. Since they were still in Niall's backyard, it was only a couple of feet away from where they were standing. "Liam, what's wrong?" "My- m.. M.. My dad... He- he's-..." "Liam calm down. Now, what happen-?" "MY DAD IS DEAD! GONE! IM NEVER GONNA SEE HIM AGAIN!" Liam screamed at Niall. Niall flinched, but then realized what had just came out of Liam's mouth. Niall broke into tears also. They held one another as they cried. After a couple hours of crying, Liam calmed down a little bit. "I'm sorry Niall for screaming. I don't know what got into me. Can you forgive me?" "Of course, remember the promise?" Niall reminded Liam, and from the smile on Liam's face, it was clear that he did. "I love you Niall" Niall was speechless. That was the first time he said that he loved him. "I love you too, Liam" Niall replied happily. Just then, Liam leaned into Niall's lips just as Niall leaned into Liam's. The kiss was loving, yet not too rough. Just the perfect amount of love, lust, and passion. As they broke apart, the sword that Niall was hiding behind his back fell and made a loud sound. Liam looked behind Niall and smiled widely. "Is that my-" "Yes, it's your sword. Happy anniversary babe" Niall handed Liam the sword and the piece of bark from the tree. Liam had tears in his eyes remembering the memories that they have shared, and still share to this day, underneath the big tree. "Promise we will always love one another?" Niall asked Liam, staring into his teary eyes. "Promise" Liam replied, kissing Niall. *6 years later* It was Christmas Day, and 21 year old, Niall James Horan, wasn't in the jolliest of moods. The love of his life, Liam James Payne, joined the army a couple of years after his father died. There was nothing Niall could say that would make Liam stay and not join. He wanted to fight for his country, and more importantly, his father. The thing Niall is afraid of the most is they aren't kids anymore, playing with wooden swords, no. Instead, the love of his life is out there, surrounded by people who want to kill him. Niall is just afraid that Liam won't keep his eyes open and realize that. The army called and said that Liam had to train today and there was a likely chance that he wasn't coming home for Christmas. Well, they actually said that 'he wasn't coming home' but Niall can't think about the worst things right now. And to make things worse, Niall's mum called today and told him that they cut down the big tree. So now there was nothing to make Niall strong anymore. He was nothing without those two things. And now they both aren't here, keeping his head held high. Niall cried and cried and cried for hours. One tear for Liam, one tear for the big tree. One tear, one tear. Liam, tree. Over and over again until he ran out of tears. He finally got out of bed and got dressed. He trudged down the stairs, with puffy red eyes. He missed his sword, his Liam, and his big tree. He missed his childhood, no worries and just pretending. So many promises that were still unbroken to this day. So many memories. Before he could start crying again, he looked up. Underneath his and Liam's Christmas tree was a huge present. As Niall walked closer to the mysterious present, he saw that there was a tag labeled 'Niall'. After he ripped off all the wrapping paper and opened the huge box, there was nothing in it, expect a piece of paper that was crumbled up into a ball. He read the words out loud, "I know that my love for you is real  
It's something true that we do  
Just something natural that I feel  
When you walk in the room, when you're near  
I feel my heart skip a beat  
The whole world disappears -look on the wall near the fridge" Niall ran to the wall near their fridge to find a sticky note stuck to the wall.  
"And there's just you and me  
Falling head over feet  
Let's take a chance together- relax and watch some tv" Niall laughed to himself as he ran towards the tv, but there was no sticky note stuck to it. Relax... Niall checked the couch and, to his surprise, a sticky note was stuck there.  
"I know [4x]  
We gonna make it  
'Cause no one else can make me feel  
The way that you do  
I promise you  
I know [4x]  
We gonna get there  
Today tomorrow and forever  
We will stay true  
I promise you- my dad is smiling down at us :)" Niall smiled as a tear rolled down his cheek. So this was from Liam! But wait, how? And what does he mean his father- Niall looked at the ceiling to find a piece of paper floating down and landed on his face. "They say that we're just too young  
To know  
But I'm sure heart and soul  
That I am never letting you go  
When it's right it's right  
And this is it  
'Cause I'm walking on air  
Every single time that we kiss - I always love when you play guitar, ah music to my ears ;)" Niall remembered when he played the song "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift for Liam before he left for the army. That was a tough song to sing when the person who you're singing it to is sobbing. Anyway, Niall ran upstairs to their music room where they keep every thing they have that is music related such as CDs, records, instruments, Ect. And grabs his guitar. He found a sticky note on the back on the neck.  
"You make the angels sing  
You give that songbird wings  
You make everything better- I miss you too much, I can't take it! I'm here Niall, I'm here... Listen... I'm in the wind..." Niall was so confused by that statement. What did he mean?! Well, the note did say listen, so Niall tried his hardest not to make a lot of noise. Just then he heard something, or should he said, someone that he could recognize that voice from a mile away. That beautiful, deep, yet angelic voice, that he loved. He sounded so close. As if he was in the backyard... 'No Niall, you're going crazy. Liam's training right now' Niall scolded himself in his mind. He didn't wanna get his hopes up to then get crushed by reality. But as he listened closer, he could hear the beautiful melody that has been written on all of this notes. "I know [4x]  
We gonna make it  
'Cause no one else can make me feel  
The way that you do  
I promise you  
I know [4x]  
We gonna get there  
Today tomorrow and forever  
We will stay true  
I promise you"  
As Niall pulls up the shade from the music room, he sees the love of his life, his BFF, and his sidekick, Liam James Payne playing guitar, singing into a microphone, looking up at Niall, singing to him in their backyard.  
"I'll never let you down  
I'll always hear you out  
There is nothing you cannot confide  
You listen when I speak  
You make my knees go weak  
And I just want you by my side- so get your butt down here!" Liam added in that beautiful line. Niall laughs and runs down the stairs and into the backyard Liam greets him at the door and pulls him in for the biggest, longest hug they have ever shared. They were both crying tears of joy, and they weren't planing on letting go of one another. When they finally did, they looked into each others crying eyes and leaned in. When their lips touched, sparks flew. There aren't even words to explain how so much love could be put into one kiss. The kiss was perfect, not too soft yet not too hard, just a perfect amount of passion and lust. Their lips molded together perfectly. The need for air got too high and they broke apart. They looked into each others eyes again and Liam whispered, "I know [4x]  
We gonna make it  
'Cause no one else can make me feel  
The way that you do  
I promise you  
I know [4x]  
We gonna get there  
Today tomorrow and forever  
We will stay true  
I promise you"  
Liam then picked up Niall bridal style while Niall squealed. Niall was laughing as Liam was carrying him over to their bench that they bought. As he sat him down on the bench he told him to close his eyes. Niall closed his eyes with his hands as Liam reached into his pocket to retrieve the three gifts that he had brought Niall. "Ok, open!" Liam explained as Niall opened his eyes. "Aw Li! I'm sorry! I feel terrible! I didn't think you were coming home so I didn't get you anything!" Niall almost started to cry. "Don't worry babe! You didn't know, it's fine," Liam reassured his boyfriend, "here, open it!" Liam said as he handed one of the gifts to Niall. Niall opened the gifts as fast as he could while Liam laughed. When he opened it, he recognized the big wooden sword. Niall started to tear up, remembering everything from his childhood with Liam. He couldn't think of anything that could top it, until he opened the next gift. It was in a small, tiny cardboard box. As Niall opened the box, he started to cry so hard. There, in the small box, was the small part of the big tree where the two boys carved their initials into it, and underneath were the letters 'BFFs'. Niall held the bark in his hands and traced the initials with his fingers. He couldn't believe he got this. "But, how?" Niall asked. "I heard about the tree and asked your mom where she put it. When she said where she put it, I ran over there and cut off the piece of bark before... Before the tree got destroyed... I'm sorry Niall" Liam stated with a sad face. "It's fine. The big tree will still stand strong, for both of us. And it will always keep our promises." Niall replied happily. "Speaking of promises," Liam got down on one knee and took out a ring box, "Promise we will spend our lives together, forever and always?" Liam asked his blue eyed lover, who was sobbing In front of him. 

"Promise..."


	7. Niam second place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Leia for this lovely story

"Ni?" Liam asked. Niall didn't notice. He was too busy thinking about someone. That someone was Liam James Payne. The sweetest guy known to man kind, who just happened to be his boyfriend. "Niall!" Liam yelled. Niall snapped out of it. "Y-yes" he stuttered. He was surprised. Liam never yelled at him. Liam knew how sensitive he was. "Why aren't you answering me!" He yelled again. "Ummm..." Niall said trying to think of an excuse. "Ugh just forget it ok" he said irritatedly. Niall's bottom lip quivered. The Irish lad felt tears come to his eyes. "Oh Ni bear I'm so sorry" he comforted rubbing his back. "Just forget it Liam." He said coldly. "Don't you have Sophia to be with or something?" Niall was super jealous of Liam's beard Sophia. Ni bear Sophia and I broke up." Liam said softly. "Niall said trying to conceal his joy. She was finally out of the picture. "Yeah looks like we're both spending Christmas alone, Ni" Liam said. "Why'd you break up" "Well uh we dont use Modest! anymore" Liam said. "Oh" Niall said rubbing Liam's back. "Do you need a cuddle?" Niall asked being the adorable mother fucker he is. "Yeah that'd be nice Ni". Niall buried his head in his chest. Liam put his arms around Niall. "Merry Christmas Eve boo!" Niall giggled. Liam smiled "Merry Christmas Eve to you too!" Liam kissed Niall's head. He asked nervously. "Sure" Niall chirped. Liam crashed his lips on Niall's. Niall kissed back surprised. Liam pulled off about 15 seconds later. "Wow" they both said breathlessly. Niall smiled "Liam can I stay over?" "Yeah sure it's getting late we should go to bed so we can go sledding tomorrow." "Ok" Niall got up. "We have to share a bed since uh my guest room is all like messy." "Oh ok can I borrow clothes to sleep in?" "Sure" Liam tossed him some clothes. Niall took his shirt off. "never mind I'm sleeping commando" "o-ok" Liam stuttered. Niall took the rest of his clothes off. Liam bit his lip and took his clothes off too. Niall got in bed. Liam got in bed. Niall put his head on his chest. Liam smiled and kissed him. Niallkissed back. "Goodnight Ni." "Night Li." Liam held Niall close in his strong tattooed arms. Niall smiled feeling protected and they both slowly drifted into sleep.  
*next morning*

Niall woke up to a snoring Liam. "WAKE UP ITS CHRISTMAS!!" Niall screamed excitedly. "Relax I know." He giggled waking up. "LETS GO SLEDDING!" Liam rolled his eyes. 

*later that day while sledding*

Niall laughed while they rolled down the hill. Liam smiled "Ni lets go back to my house I wanna give you your present. "Ok" he giggled and got in the car. Liam started driving. Niall put his hand on Liam's thigh. He bit his lip. Niall rubbed his thigh. A quiet moan escaped his mouth. Niall giggled. "You're such a tease Ni" he giggled "maybe maybe not." They got home. Niall gave Liam a small box. "Thanks" he opened it. It was a music note necklace. He hugged him "I love it." Liam took out a small box too. He knelt to the ground and pulled out the ring and sang (I'm using Taylor Swift lyrics don't judge me) "Marry me Niall you never have to be alone I love you and that's all I really know." Niall started crying happy tears. "Yes! Of course I'll marry you Liam I love you." Liam put the ring on Niall's finger and stood up. He kissed him. Niall kissed back. Liam picked Niall up and carried him inside bridal style. Both boys smiled. "B-but what's everyone going to think?" Niall asked. "I don't care as long as I'm with you." He replied. "This has been the best Christmas ever!" Niall squealed. "I know boo!" There was mistletoe hanging above them. "You have to kiss me Ni, it's a rule." Niall kissed him softly. Liam kissed back. Niall kicked his legs up so that Liam was holding him. They both pulled away. "I love you." Liam said "I love you too." Niall said. "Let's go get some hot chocolate!" And with that both boys went to enjoy the rest of Christmas together.


	8. Nouis first place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Allysha for this lovely story

Niall and Louis were feeling a bit lonely this year. It was Christmas time and usually they would go see their families but this year they were snowed in. The other boys had already gone home so it was just the two boyfriends bundled up in blankets sitting on Niall’s couch watching old movies and eating Christmas cookies. They were currently going through channels and shoving food into their mouths, not really paying attention to what was on. Louis continued pressing the button on the remote until Niall reached out and stopped him.  
“Go back two channels, Louis,” the blonde said as he removed his hand. Louis gave him a look as he went back two channels. The commercial showed some people lying on the ground in alleyways and by public places.  
“They’re homeless, Niall. Why do you want to watch something that is so depressing right before Christmas?” Louis asked softly as they continued watching the commercial.  
“Louis, they are in London.” Niall pointed out as he sat forward on the couch. The commercial finished soon after and Niall turned his blue eyes onto the older boy. Louis felt Niall’s gaze on him and he turned, raising an eyebrow at the Irishman.  
“Louis, I think that everyone deserves to have gifts on Christmas.” Niall said softly and the brunette nodded. He understood where Niall was coming from. He wanted as many people to enjoy Christmas as possible which was why he bought and donated all those toys to the children’s hospital. Louis suddenly sat up a bit straighter.  
“I know just how we can do that. Everyone will have gifts this year, Nialler. I promise.” Louis said and was rewarded with a kiss to his lips. It was Christmas day and Niall was currently standing in the living room surrounded by bags and bags of gifts. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Louis had actually managed to pull it off and get enough gifts for all of London basically. Niall glanced up at the clock and saw it was about nine o’clock. He turned to walk into the kitchen when Louis suddenly came bursting through the front door.  
“RISE AND SHINE NIALL!!! IT’S CHRISTMAS!!!” Louis was shouting, not even noticing Niall standing in front of him in nothing but his boxers. Niall couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his mouth at the sight of Louis all covered in snow with a Santa hat on his head. Louis turned his gaze onto Niall and grinned before rushing towards him and hugging the blonde boy hard, kissing his lips.  
“Good morning, blondie. It’s time to go so get dressed.” HE mumbled and Niall saluted Louis before hurrying up to his room and throwing on some warm clothes. When he finally got back downstairs, Louis had already brought all the bags outside and shoved them in the car and was standing in the entry way in his winter gear. He smiled when he saw Niall walking towards him in a dark blue sweater that made his eyes stand out even more than usual.  
“You look wonderful, Mrs. Claus.” Louis teased and Niall pulled a face before laughing and pulling on his boots and jacket. Louis shoved a hat on Niall’s blonde hair and shoved some mittens into his hand before dragging him out the door.  
“Let’s deliver some presents." The boys walked up and down the busy streets of London, handing out gifts to the homeless people that were ducking under canopies to get out of the falling snow. An old man sat on top of a bucket playing guitar and singing Christmas songs for change and as Niall and Louis walked by he gave them a bit of a shout-out by singing the chorus of ‘What Makes You Beautiful’. Niall laughed and walked over, handing the old man a present.  
“You don’t have to that boys,” the man said and Louis smiled at him, patting Niall on the back.  
“We don’t have to but everyone deserves a gift on Christmas,” the brunette explained and the old man chuckled a bit before pulling off the wrapping paper. There was a plain white box that the man looked at questionably before pulling that open as well. Inside of the box was a care kit that Niall and Louis had worked on putting together: a blanket, hat, gloves, socks, medicine, throat lozenges, candy, and a special gift certificate for £50 signed by both Niall and Louis for any food establishment in London. The man just stared down at the box for a few moments before looking up to Louis and Niall with tears streaming down his face.  
“My wife died about 10 years back and we had no kids together so it’s just been me. This is the best Christmas I’ve had since. Thank you.” The man explains, standing up to shake both of the boys’ hands and hug them in thanks. Niall watches as the man hugs Louis then sits back down.  
“Well, that’s not all,” Niall said softly before grabbing a card out of his pocket and having one of Louis’ friends hand him a box. The man looked at Niall curiously, as did Louis.  
“Open them,” Niall said softly, stepping closer to Louis so that he can lean against the older boy. The man opens the box and smiles when he sees a warm Christmas dinner. The card is opened quickly and inside is an invitation to a New Year’s party that Niall organized for everyone they were planning to give gifts to that day. The man opens the box and smiles when he sees a warm Christmas dinner. The card is opened quickly and inside is an invitation to a New Year’s party that Niall organized for everyone they were planning to give gifts to that day. The man started to cry once again and hugged Niall tightly while Louis looked on with a proud smile on his face. When they walked away to hand out more gifts, Louis threw his arm around Niall’s shoulders and pulled him in close.  
“That’s why I love you.” Louis whispered to Niall who just laughed in response.  
“Merry Christmas, Louis.”  
“Merry Christmas, Niall.”


	9. Nouis second place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Grace for this lovely story

Louis p.o.v

I shut my locker ready and prepared for my next class. And sure enough, as soon as I shut my locker, someone shoves me right into it. The usual. I really don't get why people bully or make fun of me. I think it's just because I'm the smartest in the class? Well sorry for wanting to get in a good college and studying. Because I like superheroes and comic books? Oh c'mon. Who doesn't like a little bit of a comic book. A shove in the back brings me back to reality from my thoughts. I just ignore it. I'm used to it. They shove me again and I turn around. The bully was running away laughing his stupid ass off. The only people behind me are the football team. They wouldn't bully me. They won't even be seen near me.

Niall's P.O.V 

"Hey Niall!" I turn my head and see one of my best friends, James, with a football. "Catch!" I quickly shut my locker and catch the ball. We have a laugh and start walking done the hall to our next class. We have separate classes, but they are right next to each other. Suddenly, a guy bumps into my right shoulder. I think he was running away from something. I look behind me and he's already gone. I look it front to see what he was running from. The I figure it out. In front was Louis Tomlinson. The guy was probably bulling him. I keep my eyes on Louis, I figure out he has blue eyes. Actually very beautiful blue eyes. The bell rings and shakes me out of my thoughts. ***

Louis P.O.V) I tap my pencil while waiting for everyone else in class to finish their test. I finished mine early as usual. When everybody turns in their test Mr. Nelson gives us free time while he grades the papers. Soon enough the bell rings and I can escape class. Or at least I thought. Mr. Nelson calls my name and another name that I couldn't quite make out. He said to stay after class. I packed things in my backpack and walked to the front of the class. It was just me and Niall Horan. Mr jock and captain of the football team. But I'll admit, he's actually pretty cute. "Mr. Horan, I've looked at your past tests and you're grades are very disappointingly low..." Niall nods a little disappointed in himself. "... And by school rules, you can't play in any upcoming games until your grades improve" "No no no! But Mr. Nelson the championships are our next game!" Niall yelled. "I don't Mr. Horan, you need to get your grades up." "Well how." Niall asks. "That's where Mr. Tomlinson comes in." Mr. Nelson says and I lift my head up from look down. "What?" "Mr. Tomlinson, I was thinking you could tutor him. Since you are the smartest in the class. What do you think?" I think it over a bit. "Sure. I guess." "Okay great! Mr. Horan? What do you think?" He looks down then back up again. "Sure. If it'll help. I'll do it." We both agree and walk out of he class. Since it was the end of school, I went to talk to Niall about where he wanted to study. "Hey Niall, should we study at my place or yours?" He looks around and grabs my forearm. He drags me to a corner behind the lockers. Kind of excluded from everyone else. "Umm... Your place would probably be better Louis." He tells me looking around again. "Alright. We'll take my car then." I speak. "No!" Niall said quickly, "uhh... Erm... I have to erm... get something out of my locker. So why don't you wait right outside the school and I'll meet you out there in your car. Okay?" He offers and I nod. I walk out to my car, get in, start it, and drive up to the curb of the school. I wait a while and think why Niall was so weird earlier. Once he comes out of the school, I know why. He came out with his shades on, his head down yet still looking around to see if anyone saw him. That's low. That's just rude. I'm helping the guy out. I don't have to but I want to. The least he could do is be seen with me! Even if it's just for tutoring. He hops in the car and puts his seatbelt on pretty quickly. "You know. That's just low. If you don't wanna be seen with me, I don't have to do this whole tutoring thing. I could just not help you and you could fail and not be able to play at the champions ships. Probably cost the whole game for the whole school, but hey, at least you won't be seen with a geek like me." I spat, he looks down, closes his eyes, and just simply whispers "Sorry." I put the car in drive and speed off to my house.

(Nialls p.o.v.) "Is this the answer?" I ask Louis pointing to my notes. "Yep! That's correct! Good job mate." He says patting me on the back. Louis is actually pretty cool. He's really funny! He's got the cutest laugh and giggle too. "Mate, I feel like we've been studying forever. You want something to drink or something." He asks. "Sure. Just water is fine." "Here you go." He says as he hands me a water bottle. He's still acting really friendly, considering how I acted earlier. But c'mon how else was I supposed to do. If I was seen with him, I wouldn't hear the end of it. And then I wouldn't play at games as good as I usually do, because everyone knows as can never play right when I'm sad. But I do admit, that was really low. I become saddened as I think of how mad I made Louis earlier. "Are you okay?" He asks me shaking me out of thoughts. "Yea. I'm fine." I say looking down still wondering if he's still mad at me. He probably is. "Hey, look at me" I look up at him and he's making the cutest, funniest, closed-mouth grin and crossing his eyes. I start cracking up at his funny face. He starts laughing too. His beautiful  
laugh. Oh god. What am I thinking? I think... I'm starting to fall for Louis.

Louis POV (day of the championship)

I'm still irritated with Niall for how he acted about having to be tutored by me. I'm not that bad am I? I know I'm kind of a nerd but did he need to act like that? If he doesn't want to be seen with me then I'll be sure to only speak to him during tutoring.

Niall POV

I passed the test... I passed the test!  
I have to tell Louis this is great. "Louis I passed!" I run up to him and hug him just to be pushed away. "That's great Niall." He doesn't sound as happy today. "Louis I have something to tell you." I hope I sound as confident as I thought I did. "What do you want now?" He asked me. "I just wanted to tell you, ever since that day you started tutoring me I've developed some feelings for you and wondered if you would like to go on a date with me?" Louis looks up at me  
"Are you sure you would even want to be seen with me if we went out?" Louis says his voice rising each word. "Of course I would what do you mean?" I ask confused. "You know what I mean, that day I first had to tutor you, you were embarrassed of going somewhere with me that's not the type of relationship I want to be in if my boyfriend would be embarrassed of me." He says angrily and walks off. "Wait Louis, please hear me out!" I beg. "Save it." He says not even turning around. How am I supposed to play today? I cant knowing Louis is mad at me.

at championship game* (Niall POV)

I'm doing terrible we are down 3-1. I can't play at all. "Niall get back on defense!" My coach yells at me. I'm trying to catch the guy but he's to far in front of me and he shoots... Goal number four. Thank god it's halftime. As I'm walking off the field I see Louis coming near me. "Niall can I talk to you for a minute?" His voice is soft. "Um sure I guess." I say and follow him. "Look I'm really sorry about earlier I didn't mean any of it. I do have feelings for you too and I hope you can forgive me." He says tears brimming his eyes. I'm smiling so big my face is starting to hurt. "Of course I forgive you Louis!" I say hugging him and spinning him around. "Thank you so much." He says sighing. "Now get out there and win that game." I'll do just that." I say smiling and run back to the field. I came back onto the field with a new spark and feeling so much happier. I actually tied the game and scored the winning goal. After the game I go and see Louis behind the bleachers. "So about that date then?" I say smirking. "I'd love to go on a date with you Niall." He says smiling. "Great because I wasn't taking no for an answer this time." I say slowly leaning in feeling his breath on my lips. "I wouldn't dream of saying no." He says leaning in. "Good." I say and fully kiss him. 

THE END


	10. Zarry first place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Stacy for this lovely story

12:33, the clock above the door read as I said my goodbyes to the last of my guests. “Goodbye Liam, bye Niall. Drive safely.”

Niall grinned and embraced me in a bear hug. “The food was great! Thank you for inviting us. I had a great time.” He said a grin still on his face as he pulled away. He turned to Liam who was waiting by the car shivering, all curled up in his small jacket.

“Love ya Harry! Happy new year!” Liam yelled jumping a bit, impatient to get into the warm car. “Congrats again you guys!” I shouted as they opened their car doors. I smiled and waved, before shutting the door on the cold winter night that had me shivering. I locked the door then scurried up to my room, leaving the mess of down stairs to deal with later.

After taking a long bath, I dressed in my embarrassing, but cozy SpongeBob onesie pajamas… Zayn had gotten me for my birthday. My heart dropped thinking about him so I shuffled to my bed and got under the thick duvet, putting my head on my pillow, my eyes instantly drooped ready to close for the rest of the night.

“Niall and I are getting married!” I remembered Liam announcing tonight his face aglow and a large grin had been plastered on his face as he lifted his left hand to show me and Louis the silver ring that was now on his ring finger. I grinned as I remembered Louis screaming and grabbing Niall and Liam in a huge hug while the biggest smile was frozen on my face. I rushed to the couple’s side.

“Congratulations! Oh my God! Tell us everything!” I had ordered pulling them to the couch. We had opened a new bottle of champagne and drank while Niall explained in detail him proposing to Liam. I laughed when I remembered Liam blushing insanely when Niall had told us how much Liam had cried when he asked him if he would spend the rest of his life with him. My heart dropped as I thought of my own love life. It took everything not to cry at that moment. "I miss…" I lost my train of thought when I heard a crashing sound coming from the kitchen. I froze for a moment and waited to hear if another sound would come. When there was in fact another sound, I nervously pulled my blanket off myself and shuffled to the bedroom door. I peered out into the darkness of the hallway and took in a breath as I saw that down the stairs the living room light was on. I wracked my brain trying to remember if I had left any lights on. I hadn’t. 

There was a shuffling sound, and then I snuck back into my room quietly and searched in the light of only the moon for some sort of weapon I could use if this got ugly. 

Unfortunately, the best I could find was a broomstick and a signed baseball my father got me on my thirteenth birthday when he wanted me to be manlier.

The sounds from downstairs had stopped I noticed as I walked down the hall to the staircase, broom in hand. 

I slowly creped down the stairs my forehead sweating. "Did someone turn the heater up?" I wondered. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I looked to my right into the living room.

I dropped the broom when I saw him sitting on the sofa. All I saw of him was the back of his head, but I could tell who that black hair and dark caramel colored skin belonged to anywhere. “Z-Zayn?” I squeaked. "You must be seeing things," I thought to myself. "He is…"

I stepped forward as he stood up and turned to me. He was in the same thing he was in the day we said are goodbyes at the airport. The camouflage Army uniform he was to wear before he went on that plane to go off and leave me to go fight for America. 

It was him. Plain as day. Though deep inside those beautiful brown eyes there was sadness, he wore the biggest grin. “Harry… my love. Happy New Year.” He said, tears welling up in his eyes. My hands shook and I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked past the sofa and lunged into his arms. I started crying hysterically. “Zayn! I thought you were dead! These- these men came over here and told me you had been lost- oh Zayn.” I said through sobs. “That was a year ago- I…” I couldn’t talk anymore. The sobs had grown and my chest was heaving. I buried my head deeper into the crook of his neck and I let the tears fall freely.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, love. I’m here,” Zayn said sounding confused, he rocked back and forth as I clutched onto him as if he was the only thing in the whole world. Zayn sat down on the sofa and I followed him; I curled into his lap and grasped onto his uniform tightly.

We just sat there for a few minutes, me crying and Zayn rocking me, whispering sweet things into my ear. I composed myself and looked up from his chest. “Zayn, what happened?” I asked cupping his face in my hands. He looked at his shoes and shook his head sadly. “They lied to us, Hazza,” He whispered looking up into his boyfriend’s beautiful green eyes. “After a while of training and a bit of fighting, I was to go in on a very important mission, they promised me they would tell you I was coming home soon and I loved you… I guess the mission was too important and secret to tell anyone other than that we were lost or... dead.” I shook my head and tried my hardest not to go and cry again. “I am so sorry Harry. I missed you so much.” A tear slowly fell from his eye. I gave him a small smile then kissed his cheek. “You are here with me Zayn. That is all that matters. I love you.” I said pulling my fingers through his raven black hair. He smiled taking my face in his hands. He placed a small kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes remembering how good it felt kissing Zayn’s soft lips. I laid my head on Zayn’s chest and just listened to him breathe. “I love you Harry.” Zayn said, taking a bit of my curly hair into his hand and twirled it in his fingers, just like he used to. I hummed and closed my eyes. I thought about how I should ask Zayn about how he had been all this year, tell him about Liam and Niall’s engagement to get married, and tell him how much my heart hurt all year without him by my side. But with Zayn’s warm body beneath me, his hands looping through my curls, I couldn’t get myself to say anything at all because he was there and my eyes felt extremely heavy. So with my hands clutching onto Zayn’s uniform, I fell into the best sleep I had had since he left.  
The disappointment I felt when I woke up slammed into me like a punch to the face. I had done it again. I had dreamt up the most wonderful dream of Zayn coming back to me, us falling asleep on the sofa together, fingers intertwined, again. I cringed thinking about calling up Louis and telling him about it. As much as I wanted to, last time I did Louis packed his things and came over refusing to leave me for weeks. And he was not the best house mate to have with his loudness his refusal to pick up anything.

I sighed and sat up from where I was sleeping. I frowned in confusion because why was I on the sofa? Thoughts of the dream being reality raced through my head but I was quick to dispose of them knowing to well that my mind was a mean lying bastard. I probably had too much to drink, I thought pulling the light blanket off myself… but apparently no hangover. I shrug to myself then get to the kitchen, to grab myself a cup of water. I froze before opening the kitchen door. There was a humming sound coming from inside a shuffling around then a clatter of what sounded like a plate. Maybe Louis came over... I thought then opened the door. My draw dropped when I saw Zayn, sitting at the table eating a plate of scramble eggs like the Saturdays before he left to fight. He looked up at me and frowned seeing the look my face held. “What’s wrong babe?” he asked getting off his chair rushing to me in concern.

“I-I thought it was just another dream.” I murmured as Zayn took my body into his arms. I hug back, clinging on to his shoulders, feeling a bit dizzy at the whole situation. “It wasn’t a dream love I’m here.” He said petting my hair the way he knows I like. “I thought about calling Liam or Niall but I figured if you thought I was… dead then they probably thought that too I don’t want to freak out to many people at once.” He chuckled and I still couldn’t believe this was actually real. I just stood in his arms smelling a mixture of after shave and shampoo on his skin. He pulled away and looked me in the eye. “You haven’t gone mute have you?” he asked a smile spreading across his face. I smiled, no one could not respond to that smile. “I just… I missed you Zayn.” I said tears of joy pooled into my vision. He grabbed me into his arms again and pecked my neck with a sweet kiss. “I’ve made you some eggs so let’s sit and eat love.” I nodded my head and followed him to the table.

After serving me a plate of eggs Zayn sat next to me and we both ate in a sort of comfortable silence, Zayn’s leg brushing up against mine while we gave each other loving glances. “I forgot how cute you looked in those PJ’s Zayn said gesturing toward the ugly Sponge Bob one piece jammies he got me on our fourth Christmas together. I blushed and looked down at my eggs hiding a smile.

I finished my eggs then Zayn followed me up stairs so we could brush our teeth and get dressed.

“You don’t know how good it feels to be home.” Zayn said as he lay out on our bed while I changed out of my jammies. I smiled as I pulled a rolling stones shirt over my head. “It’s even better having you home Zaynie.” I say. Now dressed, I joined him on the bed and we curled up to each other and laced are fingers together. “At least you didn’t think I was dead all year.” I muttered admiring Zayn’s tattoos that I had touched so many times in my life time. Zayn sighed and kissed my head. “I can’t even imagine what kind of hell you have been going through Harry. I am so sorry.” He said pulling me closer to his body. 

“Liam and Niall are getting married.” I said looking into Zayn’s brown irises. His eyes lit up then he sat right up out of bed. “Oh my god! Now I have to talk to them.” He said happily taking my hand and rushed down the stairs to the living room.

Louis, Liam, and Niall all sat on the couch opposite of the sofa I was sitting on.

“Zayn is back.” I said wringing my fingers together in excitement. They all exchanged odd looks, frowns and worry clear on their faces.

“Harry have you lost your mind babe,” Louis said reaching over to place a hand on my knee. “Zayn is... dead. We were all here when those men came knocking on your door. I’m sorry Harry.”

Niall looked over to Liam his eyes glistened with sadness. “Harry I can’t even imagine what you are going through, I think I would lose it if Niall were to die.” Liam said pulling his fingers through his hair. His other hand was clinging on to Niall’s fingers; his thumb stroking the front of his hand.

I gave them all a weak smile. “Zayn? Come on out.” I said looking over my shoulder to the top of the stairs.

I looked back over to the boys who froze with confusion on their faces.

There was silence then a soft sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

Zayn reached the bottom then turned to our three best friends. “Hey guys.”

“What the fuck…” Louis muttered then slowly rose from his seat.

Niall put a hand over his mouth.

“Jesus Christ! Zayn is that really you?” Liam asked standing up pulling Niall with him.

“It’s great to see you guys again.” Zayn said a large smile plastered on his face.

There was a moment of silence before Niall rushed to Zayn’s side and enveloped him a hug. Louis and Liam joined Niall and grabbed Zayn and pulled him into their arms.

“We thought you had died Zayn!” Louis said pulling away, his hand still gripping onto Zayn’s bicep.

Zayn sighed and moved over to the sofa where I sat.

The boys followed him and sat on the couch looking at Zayn expectantly.

Zayn explained everything, about the lying men and the mission… Liam nearly cried when he explained last night and this morning.

Zayn smiled when he noticed a silver ring on Liam’s ring finger. “Oh! Congratulations Liam and Niall I heard about the proposal.” Zayn said his face glowing with happiness. I smiled and curled closer to Zayn’s body, leaning my head on his shoulder.

Liam grinned and looked over to his fiancé who was smiling like mad.

“Did Harry tell you that when I asked him he freaked me out because he wouldn’t stop crying?” Niall asked in a teasing tone. Liam blushed then gave Niall a small shove. Zayn couldn’t stop smiling as he watched his best friends.

“No he didn’t but I don’t need to be told that to already know it happened, Liam and I being old flat mates.” Zayn said placing a hand in Harry’s hair. “He cried for hours after watching Marley and Me.”

“Hey stop teasing the poor bloke he might cry.” Louis said pulling Liam into his arms. Liam rolled his eyes and smiled.

“I missed you all so much.” Zayn said and turned to me. “I’m never going to leave you again… I love you.”

“I love you too…” I whispered then placed a kiss in his temple. “I love you too.”


	11. Zarry second place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Melanie for this lovely story

"Harry, Come back!" Zayn pleaded to Harry who was stumbling over to the bathroom half-awake to brush his teeth. "Hold on." Harry mumbled with his raspy morning voice taking a few more steps away. "But it's Christmas! We can stay in bed no matter how bad we smell or look." Zayn protested. Harry turned around and glanced at Zayn in the bed. His hair was scruffy and his shirt was half off. His eyes were droopy and still tired. He did a weak smile towards Harry and that was enough to win Harry over. Harry, all the sudden, got as much energy as he could muster and quickly jumped into the bed, much to Zayn's pleasure. Zayn smiled and adjusted his Christmas pajama jumper. After Harry plopped on the mattress Zayn lifted his arm and held Harry in a tight embrace, almost as if he were protecting him from something. "I love you Harry" Zayn whispered. Harry smiled his famous beautiful smile as he snuggled closer to Zayn, who didn't mind at all. "Me too. Merry Christmas and Happy Anniversary." Harry said, as Zayn remembered last year when Harry asked to be his boyfriend under the mistletoe on Christmas. "You're my precious christmas gift." Zayn cooed to Harry and held him even tighter nuzzling his head against Harry. "But you're my Christmas Miracle." Harry said, and fell asleep once more.


	12. Ziam first place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Suz for this lovely story

Christmas is, without a doubt, Liam's favorite holiday. she loves the lights and the decorations and the cheerful, loving spirit that comes with it. she loves spending time with her family and going sledding with her friends and seeing all the kids building snowmen. she loves waking up early (even earlier than normal because really she's always been an early riser) and opening presents with her family and helping her mom make Christmas dinner. Loves seeing the looks on her friends faces when they do their gift exchange and she's found something particularly special for them. she loves it all. so when she wakes up on the 26th and heads out for her morning run (she plans on running twice as far to make up for all the desserts she allowed herself) and finds a small box sitting in a card with her name on it she's very excited but also a bit confused because she knows she got all her presents from her friends and family already. 

sitting at her desk after her run Liam finally opens the card to find that it's not a Christmas card but a note

Liam,  
did you know that the actual 12 Days of Christmas lead away from Christmas, ending on January 6th? so in true Christmas spirit let the 12 days begin!  
on the first day of Christmas my secret santa gave to me.... this is where you open the gift.

x secret santa 

following the notes direction Liam opened the small box to find a lavender bow with a small note underneath that read "for when your bangs starts to become a bother". letting a small smile creep on to her face as she thought of how often she would have to push her hair back to keep it from being in her way. maybe having a secret santa would be alright.

-

when she woke up the next morning the first thing Liam did was check the door step for another gift and was surprised by the disappointment she felt when she found nothing there. she quickly shook it off though and went for her morning run before heading off to work her shift at the coffee shop in town.

halfway through her shift Zayn and Harry came in as they usually did, to visit her. 

"hey! the usual?" she asked, already starting to make up their drinks.

"why do you even ask Li? you know our order better than we do." Harry laughed.

they stood around and talked for a bit, it had been a slow day not many people trekking through the fresh layer of snow for a cup of coffee, so she already had all her cleaning done. 

"I guess we should be going, mom wants me to help take down the tree." Harry said with an eye roll

"bye Liam!" Zayn said as she jumper off the counter, "oh! and cute bow!" she added while walking out the door.

Liam was confused as she brought her hand to her head, but remembered she was wearing her secret santa gift. 

"Liam you can go when you finish cleaning the tables, Matt and I should be fine for the rest of the night." her manager Nick called to her. "also someone dropped this by for you." he said holding up an envelope. 

"okay, thanks." she took the envelope from him. _day two_ is all it said. needless to say Liam wiped the tables down faster than she ever had and grabbed the envelope before heading out to her car.

she ripped open the envelope to find another note and a small key inside; /on the second day of Christmas my secret santa have to me, a little help for day three./

-

Day three was much like day two in the sense that Liam didn't find her gift until much later in the day. 

she is at the gym with Louis when she finds it, stuffed in the back of her locker. she quickly tell louis goodbye and that she'll see her soon and rushes out the door. 

pulling out the key she received yesterday she opens the small, trunk like box and is very surprised to hear music Beginning to play. opening it fully she sees a scale model holiday ice skating rink complete with a Christmas tree and people slowing moving around. the note attached says she should listen to it when she's feeling down and she thinks this is her favorite gift, but it's only day three.

\- 

day four brings a beautiful bracelet with the inscription 'only time will tell..' and the note just says to read the bracelet. 

-

she finds her fifth gift in the front seat of her car when she's heading to meet up with Harry. so she just tucks it's away in her purse to open when she gets home and all but forgets about it until she's sitting in bed that night. she pulls out the gift and reads the card. /on the fifth day oh Christmas my secret santa gave to me, a little help for deciphering your feelings ;)./ she opens the box to find a set of mood rings and another note; /maybe the other one could be for me? so we always know how the other feels :)/.

On day six, more commonly known as New Year's Eve, Liam finds two gifts in her mailbox. one is marked for day Suz and the other only says /do not open until midnight/, so she opens the first gift and sets the other on her desk. this time she finds a cd labeled 'play me at midnight' and Liam doesn't want to wait 12 more hours but she's always been an honest person and whoever her secret santa is trusts her to follow their directions so she will.

at 11:59 Liam has the cd in ready to hit play and the other gift waiting to be opened. she has a thought about how lame she is, staying in on this night when she could be out but she couldn't care less. the clock finally strikes twelve so Liam hits play and opens her box to find a single Hershey's kiss inside and then Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer starts playing from her stereo and Liam is only a little overwhelmed. the note that she finds in the bottom of the box reads; /I hope this kiss will serve as an okay placeholder for your perfect New Years kiss. maybe next year it can be real./

Liam's not sure if she's more pleased with this gift or more upset because she has only ever confused in her girls about her silly wish to have the perfect New Years kiss. while she's thinking over who her secret santa could possibly be (Louis would do it for a laugh but she wouldn't take it so far and harry is far to bad at keeping secrets to hide it from her) the next song begins and all her worries fade as Kiss The Girl from The Little Mermaid begins to play and all she can think of is how she and Zayn would belt out the song whenever Niall and Harry would stare a little too long. she falls asleep smiling.

\- 

her gift for day eight isn't so much a gift as it is a letter. 

/dearest Liam,

I'm sure by now you're very confused and wonder who I am. I wish I could tell you but that would ruin the surprise! I just wanted to assure you that we are indeed friends and I am not some crazy stalker. I've had a crush on you for as long as I can remember and finally got the courage to do something about it. all I can hope is that you won't be disappointed when you find out. 

yours always,  
S.S. /

she read and reread the letter over thinking she might have misread it the first time, but no. some know had a crush on her. on her, Liam! out of her group Louis and Zayn were the pretty knew, always getting asked out. not that Liam had never been asked out but it was never by anyone she would have liked. though she did go out with Daniel for a while but that ended quite abruptly when she realized she sorta likes girls a little more than boys and he didn't take it well. for the eighth night in a row she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

-

days nine and ten were very much the same in the fact that they were both silly sorts of gifts. 

on the 3rd (day nine), Liam got a pair of fuzzy socks and hot cocoa powder in a buzz light year mug. 

/to keep you warn when I can't/

and on day ten she got a set of batman earrings.

/to keep you safe/

-

on the 11th day school was back in session and Liam was distracted by the hustle of trying to find all her classes and catch up with all her friends and she had completely forgotten about her secret santa until she opened her locker and found a small box placed on her Econ book. she quickly opened it and found a ring that was... well she didn't quite know what it was. she found the note lying under the box. 

/this may be a little cheesy but I'm going for it ;). here's a heartbeat ring because my heat beats only for you!/

Liam couldn't wipe the smile off her face for the rest of the day.

-

it was finally the 6th of January, her 12th day of Christmas and Liam was absolutely buzzing with excitement. surely she would find out who her secret santa was today. she made it through her first three classes an was on her way to lunch when Harry stopped her.

"hey Li! I have something for you!" she said having her a folded piece of paper that clearly read Day 12.

liam started for a moment before it clicked. "you. you were in on this Harry?"

"oh sweet Liam, of course I was!" Harry giggled, "now quick take this and follow your directions!" and the she was running off to catch up with niall. 

 

/well the time has come I suppose So your 12 gift is me?

I'll be waiting on the bleacher by the football field. hope to see you soon

s.s./

Liam runs to the field, not caring what anyone thought. 

 

when she got there she slowed her breathing trying to make it seem like she hadn't just sprinted all the was from the main building. looking around she saw a small figure sitting in the bottom row. as she got closer she started to recognize the person.

"Zayn?" 

the girl, definitely Zayn, slowly turned around, "surprise?" she said a nervous tone in her voice. 

"you're my secret santa?" Liam asked, trying to keep the smile off her face.

"Um, yes. but I have a little speech so, um, just one second then you can freak out okay?" Zayn started, "Liam, I know that we've been friends forever and a lot of people would never want to take the risk of ruining a friendship but I have been in love with you since that day in 3rd grade when you punched Lily Mae for calling me stupid and I don't think I'll ever find anyone i will love as much as i love you. so this is me putting everything out there for once and I just. I hope that's okay."

Liam just stood there for a while not moving or saying anything, just thinking over everything Zayn had just told her. she was only drawn out of her head when Zayn croaked out an "I'm sorry" and started to turn away.

"NO! Zayn! no! don't leave" she all but yelled at the girl and grabbed her arm, "I lie you too you idiot! how could you not know that?"

Zayn looked up quickly, "really?"

"how could I not?" Liam said. and yes her first thought was right, she did like having a secret santa. she liked it a lot.


	13. Ziam second place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Srav for this lovely story

Ziam imagine (Liam pov) It was cold december night, just a few minutes till midnight and the New year of '14 begins. All the boys decided to play truth or dare. "Liam, truth or dare" Zayn asked. "Truth mate" "Ok, if u could marry one person from the band, who would it be?" "Erm.. It would probably be.. Y-you." I said. Zayn looked a bit shocked but soon turned out to be flattered. "Aww Liam, I'd marry u too. " Me and Zayn always had a thing between us, I just don't know if it was real. Even of he had Perrie and I had Sophia, I always thought we had something special. It went around back to me and it was Harry's turn to truth or dare me. "I choose dare" "Ermm.. I dare u to kiss Zayn under the mistle toe." "Woahh, mate, u crazy!?!?!" "A far is a dare right?" "Well I guess" I looked at Zayn unsure and embarrassed. "Whatcha waiting for lad." Harry said. I shot him a glare. All the boys started chanting 'kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!' And that's what we did exactly at exactly 11:59. Once we got it over with, it was 10 seconds from New Years ! So we all counted down, '10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,HAPPY NEW YEARS LADSS! this New Years was reAlly awkward but special at the same time because I spent it with my 4 other brothers and kissed one of them.


	14. Zouis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All credit goes to Lyne for this lovely story

Louis' POV:

well its's almost Christmas and I don't know what to do being a 22 year old because 22 IS OLD. I'm sitting now by the balcony on my favourite chair here at Zayn's house. We're celebrating the Christmas at Zayn's now eith all our family. Zayn's house is too big for just him, and all that. 

"LOUIS!" Well that startled me. I looked behind and it was Zayn coming towards me.

"It's 2 minutes before 12. Want to come down?" He asked standing behind me. 

"But i don't want to." I whined like a child.

"You whine like a child," told you. "So you want to stay here, eh? We'll have exchange gifts." 

"Well what will I get from you?" I asked, smirking.

"This." He leaned in and I felt his soft lips on mine. I responded, and our mouths moved in sync. 

After a minute he pulled away. "Merry Christmas." I looked at the clock and it was exactly 12:00am. December 25th of 2013. 

"Merry Christmas." I replied and pulled him into a soft kiss.  
"I love you." I said.

"I love you more." And we got done for the exchange gifts. Where in I got a sweater knitted by my mom, a nerf gun from 5sos, and a new car from all of them. Oh, and an orgasm from Zayn, haha x


End file.
